‘The nearest to God we get’: stars pick the Beethoven work they cherish

Ali Smith does an opus a month, Tony Hall saw Fidelio on Robben Island, and Lady Brenda Hale used to march to his Grosse Fuge. As the Proms celebrate Beethoven’s 250th anniversary, stars reveal a favourite work

Rowling, Rushdie and Atwood warn against ‘intolerance’ in open letter

Harper’s letter asserts way to ‘defeat bad ideas is by exposure, argument, and persuasion’, but critics accuse authors of censorious mentality

Donald Trump’s behavior was shaped by his ‘sociopath’ father, niece writes in bombshell book

The Guardian has obtained a copy of Too Much and Never Enough, in which author Mary Trump thanks president’s sister for ‘enlightening information’

Jenni Murray: ‘I hate the diet industry. It’s caused me misery’

The Woman’s Hour presenter has written a book about her lifelong struggle with her weight. She discusses fat-shaming, body positivity and what happened when she had bariatric surgery

Rigged: America, Russia and 100 Years of Covert Electoral Interference by David Shimer – review

A convincing study reveals how the KGB and CIA fought for dominance in the cold war

Future’s bright for Mabel, Olive and lockdown’s other unlikely stars

Sports presenter Andrew Cotter – the man behind Twitter’s top dogs – is among the social media stars now being offered TV and book deals

Felicity Bryan obituary

Dynamic literary agent with an extraordinary gift for nurturing new talent

White House defends Bolton hiring as Trump administration tries to block book

Kayleigh McEnany said president ‘likes to have countervailing viewpoints’ amid fallout over ex-national security adviser’s book

JK Rowling: UK domestic abuse adviser writes to Sun editor

Interview with author’s first husband unacceptable, says abuse commissioner

The arts world is facing a fierce reckoning about diversity. But is it too late?

A scandal has exposed massive pay disparities in publishing and journalism. But the information may not help much

Anti-racist book sales surge in US and Britain after George Floyd killing

Books by authors including Reni Eddo-Lodge, Ibram X Kendi and Robin DiAngelo are selling out on both sides of the Atlantic

Stephen Fay obituary

Veteran journalist, editor and author who wrote about finance, the arts and cricket

Barton Gellman: ‘The Assange precedent is dangerous’

The US journalist talks about being hacked by intelligence services, his dealings with whistleblower Edward Snowden, and why he loves detective fiction

Netflix to adapt Elena Ferrante’s The Lying Life of Adults

The streaming giant’s announcement precedes the English-language publication of the acclaimed author’s latest work

Julia Roberts: No Met ball bubbly? There’s always the bath

With New York’s glitziest fashion event in lockdown, people rose to the occasion on social media